What Happened at CES 2018?
What Happened at CES 2018? A lot, quite a lot. More than you think! With 170,000 or 270,000 visitors (depends how you count), CES must be one of the very few shows where the promoters actually try to play down the numbers regarding visitors, also because in practice, no one really knows. There are so many suites and hotels extending the activities of CES throughout the week, that it becomes hard to understand where it starts and where it ends.
SoundChip Introduces Waypoints - a Platform for Scaling the Delivery of Class-Leading Noise Cancelling Into Smart Headsets
SoundChip SA, a Swiss-based global leader in hearable sound technology, announced the introduction of its Waypoints platform, which combines proven methods, tools and expertise to help manufacturers scale the delivery of effective noise cancelling into more products within their headset portfolio than ever before. The new platform supports third-party NC chips in addition to SoundChip's own HD-PA devices.
Rethink Technology Research Publishes Voice TV Remote Controls Forecast
UK analyst group Rethink Technology Research has published a five year forecast on Voice Control of TV entertainment through remote controls entitled “Voice Control of the TV - Decision time for TV operators”. Rethink calculates that some 142.9 million homes (from 21.3 million today) will install well integrated voice technology from an operator by 2022. The forecast is by units shipped from 2017 – 2022.
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AKG Introduces New High Resolution N-Series with Marquee N5005 Headphones
One of the highlights, among the many Harman announcements at CES 2018, is undoubtedly the new AKG N5005 headphones, a high-end, in-ear model, engineered according to Harman's own research on listeners' target curve preferences by Sean Olive, Todd Welti, and Omid Khonsari. The new AKG N5005 combine one dynamic and four balanced armature drivers with four exchangeable sound filters to enable customized sound, letting music enthusiasts fine-tune their listening atmosphere.
SmartHIFI For Today's Mobile Listening Experience
Creating a new high-fidelity legacy in audio innovation for playback on mobile devices. SmartHIFI™ describes Cirrus Logic's highest-standard codecs with embedded software and DSP algorithms to deliver excellence in audio playback in new generations of mobile devices. Cirrus Logic SmartHIFI codecs deliver the very best performance in sound clarity and pure, euphoric audio listening just like the artist intended.
NXP Expands Media Capabilities Available on a Single Chip with i.MX 8M Application Processors
During CES 2018, NXP Semiconductors had the most impressive presence among semiconductor manufacturers. To address the convergence of immersive sensory experiences fueled by voice, video and audio demands, NXP has launched the i.MX 8M family of applications processors, combining robust media capabilities on one single chip. Arkamys and MSC Technologies, already announced support for the new 64-bit processor family.
Universal Audio Announces Arrow Thunderbolt 3 Desktop Audio Interface
Ahead of NAMM 2018, Universal Audio announced its latest Arrow Thunderbolt 3 audio interface for Mac and Windows, a practical desktop unit leveraging the most powerful connection to any Mac or modern PCs ever available to recording studios. The new Arrow Thunderbolt 3 interface combines the company's class-leading audio technology and 24-bit/192 kHz audio conversion, with Unison mic preamps, and Realtime UAD Plug-In Processing.
JBL Introduces Updated JBL100 Classic Loudspeaker at CES 2018
The signs were there. In 2016, JBL announced the release of the 4312SE 70th Anniversary Studio Monitor model. Now, Harman International announced the introduction of the JBL L100 Classic, a modern take on the all-time best-selling JBL L100 loudspeaker. As with the legendary L100 3-way bookshelf loudspeaker released in 1970, the new L100 Classic is in itself a consumer version of the popular JBL 4310 Pro Studio Monitor with updated drivers and crossovers, and a slightly different driver alignment.
Bryston Unveils Flagship Active Loudspeaker Systems
Bryston has announced the introduction of their Active Loudspeaker lineup, featuring three speaker models of different sizes (Model T Active, Middle T Active and Mini T Active) mated to a sophisticated DSP-enabled active crossover (BAX-1) and Cubed Series Bryston amplifiers. Two new amplifier models, the 3-channel 21B3 and 6-channel 24B3 have been created especially for the Bryston Active systems.
Harman Expands Voice Solutions with Multiple Products and Voice Platforms
At CES 2018, Harman International announced the launch of JBL LINK View, a voice-controlled, smart display speaker with Google Assistant built in. The LINK View, featuring a high-resolution touch screen and camera, will join the recently launched JBL LINK series of voice-activated speakers. Harman also announced the new JBL Everest Headphone series optimized for Google Assistant, and a new Harman Kardon Allure Portable speaker with Amazon Alexa Voice Service.